WorldTeach China Global Leadership Year

As I'm finishing my year in China with WorldTeach, I honestly wish I could start all over again. You learn so much about a new culture and about yourself when teaching and traveling in this beautiful country.

WorldTeach has your back no matter what! From the first day of acceptance, to pre-departure, to in-country they make sure you are mentally prepared for what's to come and consistently check in. I always know I can ask them any question, big or small. They also did such a great job preparing us for working in the classroom. Without the 3 weeks of training, I wouldn't be having a successful year with 900 students.

Teaching high school students is so rewarding. I am excited to go to "work" everyday and see them. After 5 years working as a professional in DC, I can definitely say this job is fun, rewarding, and you learn something new everyday. The school will absolutely love having you and will make sure you are comfortable and happy to be there.

As someone who loves traveling, you are also afforded time off to explore the world. We just had a 5 week break and I was able to save enough from our stipend (as a volunteer you receive $500/month) to travel throughout Thailand for a few weeks.

This experience is like nothing you will have with any other program. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves traveling and exploring the world while learning a new skill and giving back. Please ask me any questions you have! You won't regret this decision if you go for it and move to China with WorldTeach.

I can't talk up WorldTeach enough. China is a popular country for English teaching. I have met other foreigners in the city who are teachers and who have had difficulties with their school, been thrown into the classroom the day they arrive and have had little support.

WorldTeach is NOT that kind of program. It comes highly rated. And schools in Hunan Provence want WorldTeachers because of our training. For a whole month with WorldTeach you live in a hotel with other volunteers. You get the chance to make a support group as well as spend the month learning how to teach, learning Chinese, as well as about china's laws and customs.

You get to choose the type of placement you want city or rural. I chose rural and have no regrets. I love my school. The staff is friendly and helpful, my students can be rowdy but no more so than any other bunch of middle-schoolers and my liaison is always available when I need help.

You will not regret choosing this program.

I had the time of my life volunteering in Changsha, China. WorldTeach provided over the top in country support. I would highly recommend WorldTeach as a credible legit organization. You'll learn so much about yourself and the world with this organization!

I spent an amazing year in China thanks to WorldTeach. I had previously visited China during a summer study abroad program but my year in Hunan really allowed me to integrate myself into the community and understand the culture. I would recommend this program to anyone interested in education or Chinese culture. I made friends that I know I will have for the rest of my life. To this day, many of my wonderful students email me just to check in. Unforgettable!

I had an incredible field director who gave all of us as much support as we needed/wanted. The students in Hunan province are excited to meet foreigners and are bright and eager. There are discipline problems, but they weren't as bad as what you will find in the US.

After graduating with a degree in Modern Chinese History and International Studies, I found myself working in a research group writing science curriculum. Wanting to experience the world I had studied in school, I started looking for a way to live in China. I applied to several programs (many listed on this very site) but after talking through it with some friends who had lived in China before, I settled on WorldTeach for two reasons:
1.) I could live in a rural village in a relatively rural province. As my friends pointed out, rural placements are a rare opportunity.
2.) WorldTeach's reputation meant it might look better on my resume. Pretty selfish, I know.

Well that was my thought process, though it turned out my reasons were fine, but it was only later that I learned the real reason I had made a great choice: support. The WorldTeach China program both cared that I was a competent teacher and had the local reach to make sure that was possible. Over 18 months of living in China and Taiwan, I came to learn that support from most other international programs extends to a 5 day "training" session, a pat on the head, and a boot out the door. FYI, you can't learn how to be a teacher in 5 days. Ok, you got me, you can't learn to be a teacher in WorldTeach's 20+ day training program either, but I was certainly a lot more prepared than my fellow foreign teacher expats. Then when something went wrong, my friends-from-another-...program were just left to deal with it. School say they can't pay you this month? Too bad. Mold so caked on your bathroom you can roll your toes in new green fuzzy carpet? Tough. School makes you sleep above the coal-fueled boiler room and you get lung disease? Solve it yourself. But in each of these very real situations, WorldTeach stepped up and solved the problems within days, if not hours. Their strong partnerships with provincial education officials make short work of any day to day school problems. I cannot stress enough how much this improves the day to day life of living in China.

Of course WorldTeach was not my mommy. I did not move to the literal far side of the globe to be babied. Most smaller things I could handle on my own - and did. Things like the occasional cancelled classes or power outages lasting a few hours were fairly normal, but easy to handle on my own. Living in a different culture always comes with myriad of challenges, but that is the core of the personal journey. Any year long program will push you, as it should. Learning to be my own person faced with situations far outside my comfort zone is another reason I think the WorldTeach program was the correct move for me.

Aside from that support, WorldTeach provided a good social group. I made some life long friends, and met amazing people from all around the world. While the nightlife in my sleepy two stop-light town was nonexistent, it was easy to travel with friends all around China and Asia at large.

Looking back on it, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. While I feel my experience living abroad (in China, Taiwan, but also Russia, a bit in Thailand) has now prepared me to live and work on my own, if I was just starting out I would never go with anyone other than WorldTeach.

Going to China is not a decision to be made lightly, but the comprehensive and continual support provided by the WorldTeach organization, both in the US (predeparture) and in country (upon arrival and throughout the year) made it possible. The group of volunteers becomes extremely close, and made amazing travel partners throughout Hunan, China and Asia. In China, you are continuously learning and growing and everyday is an adventure! The teaching level and time commitment were right were I wanted them to be, and the free time allowed me to explore China, as well as the language. Deciding to participate in WorldTeach in Hunan was one of the best decisions I have made yet!

The in-country orientation and on-going support from WT staff is what sets this program apart. Without these resources I would have felt alone and unsure of myself, but with the help of the other volunteer teachers and in-country staff I felt safe and prepared to teach. Overall the experience was life-changing and something that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for an adventurous and fulfilling experience abroad.